Kenyon & Kenyon

Infobox_Company
company_name = Kenyon & Kenyon LLP
company_type = Limited liability partnership
foundation = 1879
key_people = Richard S. Gresalfi, managing partner
location = New York, NY
num_employees = Approximately 200 Attorneys
industry = Law
products = Legal services
homepage = [http://www.kenyon.com/ www.kenyon.com]

Kenyon & Kenyon LLP is a New York law firm specializing in intellectual property law. It competes with other NYC IP specialists such as Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto and Morgan & Finnegan, as well as most general practice firms that have intellectual property law practices. It has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Silicon Valley. Founded in 1879, the firm has represented Thomas Edison, Nicola Tesla, and Charles Brush. [ [http://www.kenyon.com/about/history.aspx Kenyon & Kenyon, History] ]

History

EXCERPTS TAKEN FROM “AN INFORMAL HISTORY. THE FIRST HALF CENTURY OF THE KENYON FIRM 1879 – 1933.”BY W. HOUSTON KENYON, JR.

“Within the span of a single generation – from 1875 to 1895 – the electric power and light industry came into existence in the United States. In 1875, all offices and homes had been lighted by gas or kerosene. Twenty years later, electric lamps were being installed as fast as they could be made. In 1875, mass transportation had been powered by horse or steam. Twenty years later, hundreds of electric trolley cars were hauling commuters to work and plans were in hand to electrify the New York “El”. In 1875, power at the factory bench had come from overhead shafts and belts powered by steam engines or water wheels. Twenty years later, individual electric motors drove the machinery on many a bench and would soon supersede the older power completely.”

Power and light evolved from separate inventions, but soon grew to be parts of the same industry. Light development is associated with the names of Charles F. Brush and Thomas A. Edison. Brush invented the arc light and a rechargeable storage battery. Edison invented the incandescent electric lamp. Edison’s first public demonstration of his remarkable device occurred in the same month of December 1879 in which Brush switched on his arc lights along New York’s Broadway from 14th to 26th Streets. Charles Van DePoele, Frank J. Sprague and Nicola Tesla are inventors associated with power development. Van Depoele invented the trailing trolley pole which brought current down from the overhead wire. Sprague invented the “wheel-barrow” mount for an electric motor on a car to convert this current into propulsion. Tesla invented a different form of motor which could run on alternating current. Each of these inventors applied for a patent. They were true pioneer patents, but soon other inventors came along to improve the original devices. And then strangers sought to meet the huge demand which these inventions brought into existence.

“Urgent questions soon arose amongst bitter competitors. At the forefront were whether pioneer patents met the requirements of law, and what forms of device they covered. Under our constitutional system, only the federal courts could answer these questions. To make clear to judges sitting on the U.S. Circuit Courts the “how and why” of these strange things posed a challenge to the legal profession. As the 20-year period unfolded, the power and light inventions began a wholly new kind of litigation in the federal courts – a litigation that put a premium on younger men able to grasp the new technology and to explain it in understandable terms.”

At the very moment, some of the key electrical inventions were beginning to appear, on or about January 1, 1879, a young patent lawyer named William C. Witter, a future partner of William H. Kenyon, formed a new law firm in New York City. His firm commenced operations with four partners at 32 Park Place. Within a quarter of a century, Witter or his partners had led in Federal court litigation involving the validity of each of the pioneer patents of Van Depoele, Sprague, Tesla, Brush & Edison.

"Since the original firm was founded, the firm has maintained its presence as a downtown New York firm. Kenyon & Kenyon LLP has since also opened a Washington DC office in 1983 and a Silicon Valley office in 1996. Through the years, industries have grown and new ones have been developed, and we have met this challenge head-on by always maintaining our presence at the intersection of cutting edge technology and the law. However, even with explosive industry growth, it should be said that firm continuity has not been broken and the firm likes to think of itself, 200 lawyers strong, as the same organization in spirit and tradition that began more than 125 years ago. The firm is especially proud of its long history in the intellectual property community and will continue to play a large part in the growth of this very specialized area." [ [http://www.kenyon.com/about/history.aspx Kenyon & Kenyon, History] ]

Hiring

As a general rule, Kenyon requires that incoming associates have a technical background, in either the sciences or engineering. Most attorneys have either advanced degrees in their field, or significant work experience before entering law school. Entry to the law firm is extremely selective. Like most prestigious law firms, Kenyon fills its ranks by hiring summer associates, [ [http://www.kenyon.com/careers/careers.aspx?type=Law Kenyon & Kenyon - Careers] ] which are law students between their second and third years of law school. These "summers," as they are called, work for the firm for their last summer of law school and then, if they receive an offer for full time employment, begin working as an associate after they graduate law school and are admitted to the bar.

Rankings

Kenyon & Kenyon is routinely ranked as one of the most elite Intellectual Property law firms in the world. Recent rankings include:

Ranked by Managing Intellectual Property one of the 10 largest IP Practices in the world in 2006

Ranked by Managing Intellectual Property, World IP Survey one of the top three firms for IP in both contentious and non-contentious patent and trademark representation in 2007

Ranked third In IPLaw360’s IP litigation survey, one of the fastest-growing patent practice groups in the US, as measured by new cases taken on in 2006

Ranked by IP Today’s survey one of the top 20 firms with most patents issued in 2006

NameProtect Trademark Insider® ranked Kenyon & Kenyon 5th in their most recent report on trademark filers in 2006

Ranked by IPLaw360 one of the top 5 most frequently hired specialty patent litigation firms

Offices

US: New York City, Washington, DC, Silicon Valley

References

External links

* cite web|url=http://www.kenyon.com
title = Kenyon & Kenyon L.L.P. official site
accessdate=2007-01-09